Totally blind since birth and severely deaf, globetrotter Tony Giles has clocked up over 120 countries so far on his epic quest.
Inspirational blind backpacker has ‘seen’ more of the world than most
Completely blind and severely deaf British backpacker Tony Giles wants to visit every country in the world independently — so far he has visited more than 120 countries on all seven continents.
Seven continents, 50 states, every South American country, and the Arctic Circle so far…
Tony Giles is a young British man, totally blind and 80% deaf in both ears without his hearing aids. He also had a successful kidney transplant in December 2008. Yet, he has visited the World’s seven continents, all fifty states of the USA, crossed the Arctic Circle, travelled in every South American country and visited all ten Canadian provinces.
Giles originates from Weston-super-Mare, near Bristol, in the South West of England, and at present he lives in Teignmouth, Devon.
Tony Giles has written several books about his world adventures. The books are travel diaries of the observations and experiences of a blind man as he travels around the world.
You can follow Tony’s adventues on Facebook or on his personal website, and find out more about his books HERE.
Relaxing in Nazareth, evening of Thursday 24th November….
Just last week…
Tony Giles is relaxing in Nazareth, north Jerusalem. He’s been there for four nights, staying in Simsin Guesthouse – a friendly small hostel in Nazareth’s Old Town. Tony briefly explored the old city on his first afternoon, feeling the old stone walls with his hands and cane and finding many obstacles on the pavements, including parked cars, large rubbish bins, lampposts and many small bollards.
Tony found his way to downtown by following the downwards gradient from the old town and asked local pedestrians as he went for directions to Mary’s Well/Mary’s Square, seeming the city centre. Once there, with help from a kind local, Tony enjoyed a meal in a nearby restaurant before retracing his steps back up the hill and eventually found his accommodation with yet more local help.
Giles has been back in Israel since 10th November. He undertook a brief visit to Jericho in the Palestinian Territory, where along with a couple of German girls he met, ascended to the top of the Mount of Temptation by cable car and climbed a series of steep steps to the Greek Orthodox Church to taste the fresh air and imagine the magnificent views! Atop this mountain is where, apparently, Satan attempted Jesus!
Tony also visited and briefly swam in the Jordan River where Jesus was, allegedly, baptised. Tony stripped in the hot sun and stepped into the freezing water for a brief splash before re-ascending the wooden steps and drying off. He was accompanied by a family from Chile who were also touring Israel for several weeks.
Tony continued his travels around Israel, heading south to the small Kibbutz of Ein Gedi, where he stayed at a very basic camp lodge for a few days before first exploring the fortress desert castle of Masada and then continuing on to both Beer Sheba and going further south to the large Makhtesh Ramon crater at Mitzpe Ramon. The almost complete silence inside the crater and in the small town of Mitzpe Ramon itself was breathtaking and felt somewhat spiritual.
After one final night in Nazareth, Tony heads to the ancient Roman city of Tiberias on the banks of the Sea of Galilee for a few days before beginning his exploration of the Med coast, starting in Nahariya and ending in Tel Aviv.
Source: TonyTheTraveller.com
How to be more adventurous: 14 steps (with pictures)
The formula for adventure is really quite simple: Novelty + courage = adventure. A person with an adventurous spirit might jump out of airplanes, be the first person to volunteer to rescue someone, or even ask someone on a date. You may not be that type of risk taker. If you get motivated and create a new habit for adventure, then you will be exploring a new world in no time. Be like Tony.